Ch.134An Incredibly Busy New Year

There’s a saying about “deokgye-mot,” which means “fans can’t win the lottery.”

It refers to the sad phenomenon that people who are fans of celebrities rarely get to meet them.

But.

“R-r-r-r-real K-K-Kim!”

Jieunbi hit the jackpot.

And what a jackpot it was.

‘Did I really watch a movie next to Donghu?!’

For two whole hours?

‘I thought something felt different about eating popcorn and drinking cola.’

That strange feeling wasn’t for nothing.

It was her fan sense, developed specifically for her favorite idol, activating.

To think such an amazing opportunity would come to me.

Jieunbi had quite a few things she wanted to do if she ever met him up close.

Like shaking hands, giving a strong hug, or receiving a finger heart.

She had prepared various options.

But.

“D-D-Dong, Dong, Donghu!”

“Yes, I’m Donghu. You’re DonghuIsTheBest, right?”

“Y-you, you, you re-re-remember?!”

“Yes, I remember. I know all the usernames of the early fan cafe members. Let’s get together for a meal sometime soon.”

“Uh, ah, um, eh?!”

Jieunbi could barely process the current situation.

Her favorite idol remembered her and was suggesting a meal with early fans.

Could anyone withstand such an unbelievable heart attack?

“Huuuuuh….”

It felt like her soul was leaving her body.

Her strength drained away as she naturally leaned back in her chair.

But as if that wasn’t enough.

“Thank you for being my fan.”

As the final touch, Kim Donghu flashed an eye smile.

To face her favorite idol’s eye smile head-on.

“Uh, um, ah, aaah….”

It was the moment when an unforgettable memory was etched into Jieunbi’s brain forever.

+++++

Kyaaaaaaah!

Waaaaaaaaah!

Click.

Click.

Click.

Cheers and camera shutter sounds erupted as soon as I appeared from my seat.

I smiled pleasantly as I confirmed it.

‘The event was a success.’

It was something I had always admired.

Movie actors appearing from the audience seats looked incredibly cool.

‘The fans are really enjoying it too.’

As phone camera sounds popped up from various places,

I looked around appropriately and slowly descended from the audience seats.

“The youngest has such good sense.”

“Being young, he definitely knows what people like these days.”

“Right? Look at the hot response. Maybe we should try something like this too?”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

While receiving congratulations from the director and seniors.

“Hello everyone. I’m Yoon Seongbin, director of Traitor: The Root of Corruption. First, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude for gracing this preview screening.”

The simple stage greeting began.

Since the greeting order was predetermined,

I was last in line according to seniority.

‘But going around the stage like this is refreshing.’

Since Endless Frontline didn’t have a preview screening for the general audience,

and there were no events like stage greetings,

every experience felt very fresh.

While I was thinking about various things, my turn came.

“Hello. I’m Kim Donghu, playing the role of Lee Taeseong in Traitor: The Root of Corruption.”

Wow! He’s so handsome!

Amazing!

Look over here just once!

As soon as my brief introduction ended, reactions poured in, and I continued with a smile.

“Thank you for coming! Please show us lots of love!”

That was the line I came up with after thinking about what people usually say during stage greetings.

Just as I was wondering if it sounded awkward,

“The youngest definitely… when you look at it like this, his lines are… really…?”

“Yes, they sound both polite and commercially appealing.”

“Ah, no, seniors, that’s not what I meant….”

My seniors’ teasing came right on cue.

Anyway, after completing the round of greetings,

the stage event ended with a final autographed poster raffle.

Time passed, and by the end of October,

Traitor: The Root of Corruption was officially released.

++++++

★★★☆

Common Food and Uncommon Ingredients

-Park Dongjin

★★☆

Artificial, Convenient, and Traitorous

-Lee Pyeongsik

★★★★

Warm Entertainment to Prepare Before Winter

-Ji Hyeri

In an era when YouTube hadn’t fully spread yet,

critics’ star ratings held an extremely important position.

“If Park Dongjin gave it 3.5, isn’t it worth watching?”

“And Lee Pyeongsik’s 2.5 is actually pretty decent.”

“Ji Hyeri’s 4 is solid… but somehow the ones with Kim Donghu seem to get better reviews?”

People gauged a movie’s entertainment value by looking at reviews from well-known critics.

“So, are you going to watch it?”

“There’s nothing else to watch anyway, so might as well.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“The people who went to the preview said it was super fun, so I’m actually looking forward to it.”

“Really? They did?”

“Yeah, they said it was mind-blowing.”

But Traitor: The Root of Corruption had already been revealed to general audiences through preview screenings before the critics’ reviews came out.

Despite relatively low ratings, it secured an image of being popular.

In an era when movie tickets still cost 10,000 won,

a film could win public choice if it had enough elements to pass the time.

As a result, the first day’s audience count was an impressive:

“500,000! 500,000 viewers!”

“Really?! That’s the signal!”

“Is it really true? I can’t believe it!”

It achieved 500,000 viewers on the first day, which could be considered a condition for reaching 10 million.

“Does this mean Kim Donghu will become a double 10-million actor?”

“He’s only been in two movies, and both hit 10 million? That’s really amazing.”

The production company felt like dancing with joy.

But that didn’t mean they could relax just yet.

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Focus more on marketing so we can keep going all the way to 10 million.”

“Yes, sir!”

Ju Myeonghwa, the production company’s CEO, didn’t forget that you should row hard when the tide is high.

“When was the Japanese release scheduled?”

“Three months later. It should be released in winter.”

“Good, the timing works well. We’re going with dubbing, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you looked into YouTube?”

“For now, as you said, we’re planning to upload after the Japanese screening is complete.”

“Right, and we’ll sell the subtitles and Japanese dubbing together, you know?”

“Yes.”

The strategy itself was perfect.

‘The question is how quickly and well we can get there.’

Thinking the film might be a big hit, Production Company Myeonghwa had invested quite a lot.

‘We must break even, and beyond that, be even more successful.’

It was no exaggeration to say the fate of the production company depended on it.

How would things unfold?

‘Please succeed… please keep going smoothly like this.’

It was time to pray to the heavens.

‘Especially the Japanese market, since we’ve done the dubbing too, please succeed… please…’

But contrary to Myeonghwa’s anxiety,

Traitor: The Root of Corruption’s recognition in the Japanese market was quite strong.

The reason was:

“Why wasn’t it released simultaneously? I wanted to see it too!”

“It usually takes about three months, you have to be patient.”

“It’s such a shame. I’m so jealous of those who can see it in Korea!”

“I wanted to see Kim Donghu acting again!”

It was because of Kim Donghu.

He had made himself known through Twitter,

and then consecutively appeared on The Noble Gourmet to raise his profile.

Though still small, Kim Donghu’s fandom had definitely established itself in Japan.

Moreover:

【 Kim Donghu’s acting is real! 】

A tweet from Kiryu Sota, a giant in the Japanese film industry who rarely tweets,

had fanned the flames.

As a result:

【 When will it be released? I’ll watch it as soon as it comes out! 】

【 I heard Kim Donghu did his own dubbing for his parts? So excited! 】

The Japanese marketing had already surpassed the stage of success.

++++++

To cut to the chase:

“Donghu! Congratulations on becoming a double 10-million actor!”

I became a double 10-million actor.

“Thank you.”

“Two movies and both hit 10 million! This is really incredible! You can be more excited!”

“I am extremely happy.”

As soon as they heard the news that the audience count had exceeded 10 million,

everyone at Veritas agency gathered to celebrate the double 10-million achievement.

While everyone was laughing and chatting,

I alone was wrapped in a strange tension.

‘It’s about time.’

The fact that the final audience count had been tallied

meant that the 8-week screening period was over,

which meant it was now 2015.

In fact, one reason everyone gathered was to celebrate the new year.

‘I’m 19 years old.’

The reason I couldn’t fully enjoy this celebration?

‘About 6 months from now.’

In my previous life, my parents died within that period.

How could I forget that date?

‘Exactly June 21st.’

Things could be different this time.

The anxiety of not knowing when the accident might happen.

Even though I believed Sims would solve it, I couldn’t be completely at ease.

That’s why I canceled all my schedules for 2015.

I had no choice.

If I tried to do anything during this period, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate,

and that would inconvenience those around me, so it was better not to do anything.

Besides:

‘I have a perfect excuse for not scheduling anything.’

The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

I was planning to prepare to compete there as the national heavyweight boxing representative.

‘It’s going to be busy.’

2015 would be a truly meaningful year for me.